Mechanical stoker.



M. SWINTEK.

MECHANICAL STOKBR. APPLIUATION IILED MAR.19, 190a.

ms nonms PIETERS ca. wnsmuarou, n c.

PATENTED OCT. 1 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED OCT. 1, 1907.

M. SWINTEK. MECHANICAL STOKER.

APPLICATION I'ILED MAR.19, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

MARTIN SWINTEK, OF DES MOINES, IOWA.

MECHANICAL STOKER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 1, 1907.

Application filed March 19,1906. Serial No. 306,748-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARTIN SWINTEK, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Des Moines, Polk county, Iowa, have invented a new and useful Mechanical Stoker, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved construction for a mechanical stoker.

A further object of this invention is to provide improved means for operating a mechanical stoker.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which- I Figure 1 is a front elevation of a boiler furnace equipped with my improved mechanism. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of my improved mechanism. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of my improved device and mechanism. Fig. 4 is a vertical section of engine cylinders employed in my improved construction.

In the construction of the device as shown the numeral 10 designates a furnace door preferably hinged at one side and latched at the opposite side to the metallic front 11 of a boiler furnace. The door 10 is formed with a rectangular opening 12, communicating with the opening 13 leading to the fire box of the furnace but of less dimensions.

A hopper 14 is mounted on and extends outwardly from the door-10, the side walls and the upper portion of the front wall of said hopper in vertical planes. The lower portion of the front wall of the hopper 14 is omitted, and a movable bottom 15, curved from a horizontal center, is mounted in the opening thus formed.

A flange 16 is formed on the lower margin of the movable bottom 15 and extends downward parallel with the inner face of the door 10, said bottom extending through the opening 12 in said door. I

A flange 17 is formed on the upper margin of the movable bottom 15 and overlies and slidingly engages the upper face of an inturned flange 18 on the lower end of the upper portion of the front wall of the hopper 14. I

A yoke bar 19 is located between the side walls of the hopper 14 and is fixed at its ends to the flange 18 and lower portion of the door 10 respectively.

Expansive coil springs 20, 21 are mounted between and impinge the movable bottom 15 and yoke bar 19.

A deflector 22 is mounted within the hopper 14 above the flange 18 and protects the upper portion of the movable bottom.

A shaft 23 is mounted for oscillation in the lower portions of the side walls of the hopper 14 and extends therefrom at one end.

A fuel feeder or stoker 24 is mounted on and keyed to the shaft 23 between the side walls of the hopper 14,

and said stoker is of generally cylindrical form with diametrically-opposed notches 25, 26 in its rim. The springs 20, 21 normally hold the movable bottom 15 in contact with the rim of the stoker 24.

A deflector 27 is mounted on the door 10 opposite the deflector 22 and said deflectors restrict the passage through the hopper above the fuel feeder 24 to the capacity of a notch 25 or 26.

A guard plate 28 is mounted between the fuel feeder 24 and the deflector 27 and is held normally toward said fuel feeder by a spring 29 and restricts the opening occupied by it. The forward corner of the guard plate 28 is rounded.

A deflector 30 is mounted removably and replaceably in the lower portion of the opening 13 and extends upward and inward.

A coal bin 31 is mounted on the front 11 above and in communication with the top of the hopper 14 and a slide 32, arranged for manual actuation, controls the flow of coal from said bin to said hopper.

Steam cylinders 33, 34 are mounted conjunctively on the door 10 above the outwardly extending portion of the shaft 23 and steam is supplied thereto through a port 35, said port communicating through a valvecontrolled pipe 36, part of which is flexible hose, with a source of steam supply.

Steam pistons 37, 38 are mounted for reciprocatio in thecylinders 33, 34 and piston rods 39, 40 extend downward therefrom through the lower ends of said cylinders.

Cranks 41, 42 are mounted in staggered relations on the outwardly extending portion of the shaft 23 and said cranks are connected by links in a common manner withthe piston rods 39, 40. l

A valve chamber 43 receives the steam through the port 35 at its center, and pairs of ports 44, 45 lead from the lower and upper portions of said chamber to the cylinders 33, 34 on opposite sides thereof. The ports of each pair are of different lengths and discharge at different times into the respective cylinders in order that one or the other of the pistons may be started slightly in advance of the other.

A valve stem 46 is mounted longitudinally of the chamber 43 and is reciprocated by a hand lever 47 fulcrumed on the top of said chamber. The valve stem 46 is provided with two valves 48, 49 controlling the ports 44, 45.

An exhaust port 50 leads from one end of the chamber 43 and communicates with an exhaust port 51leading from the opposite end of said chamber.

It is the function of the pistons 37, 38 to operate the shaft 23 in opposite directions through the medium of the cranks 41, 42, and in so doing oscillate the fuel feeder 24. The fuel feeder 24 receives coal in its notches 25, 26 alternately and deposits said coal through the openings 12 and 13 in the fire-box of the furnace.

The operation of the fuel feeder is by sudden movements or jerks in opposite directions and the result thereof, and of the formation of the notches therein, is that the coal from the notch 25 is hurled rearward and directed upward by the deflector 30 while the coal from the notch 26 is dropped short and divided by said deflector. In either event the coal is scattered within the fire box. It sometimes occurs that a lump of coal enters a notch that is too great to pass through the normal space provided for it, and in such event pressure of said lump will move the bottom 15 outward or the guard plate 28 upward against the resilience of the springs holding them, and thus provide, for the moment, a larger space for the passage of such lump.

The hopper 14, the cylinders and all attendant mechanism may be swung laterally on and with the door 10 when it is desired to gain access to the fire box.

I claim as my invention 1. A mechanical stoker, comprising a hinged furnace door formed with an opening, a hopper mounted on said door and communicating With said opening, a notched fuel feeder mounted for oscillation in said hopper adjacent said opening, a motor mounted on said door and adapted to oscillate said fuel feeder, a bottom springheld in said hopper, a guard plate spring-held in said hopper above said fuel feeder and a deflector in said hopper above said fuel feeder and opposite said guard plate.

2. A mechanical stoker, comprising a hinged furnace door formed with an opening, a hopper on said door and communicating with the opening therein, a notched fuel feeder mounted for oscillation in said hopper adjacent said opening, deflectors in said hopper above said fuel feeder and opposite each other, a guard plate spring-held in said hopper beneath one of said deflectors, a curved bottom in said hopper and spring-held against said fuel feeder, and a motor mounted on said furnace door and adapted to actuate said fuel feeder.

3. A mechanical stoker comprising a hinged furnace door formed with an opening, a hopper on said door communicating with the opening therein, the bottom of said hopper formed of a curved plate having its end portions bent at angles and slidingly engaging the hopper, a yoke bar on said hopper, springs between said yoke bar and curved plate, and a notched fuel feeder mounted for oscillation in said hopper and normally engaging said curved plate.

4. A mechanical stoker, comprising a hinged furnace door formed with an opening, a hopper mounted thereon and communicating with said opening, a notched fuel feeder mounted in said hopper adjacent said opening, a motor mounted on said door and adapted to oscillate said fuel feeder, a bottom spring-held in said hopper and a springheld guard plate in said hopper above said fuel feeder.

5. A mechanical stoker comprising a hinged furnace door formed with an opening, a hopper on said door, a fuel feeder mounted for oscillatioirin said hopper, adja' cent said opening, said fuel feeder formed with opposite notches adapted to receive and convey portions of fuel alternately in opposite directions, a shaft carrying said fuel feeder, cranks on said shaft in staggered relations to each other, motors on said door, and pitlncn connecting said motors to said cranks.

(i. A mechanical Stoker, comprising a hinged furnace door formed with an opening, a hopper on said door, a re ceptacle mounted above said hopper and indepeinlcnt of said door, a slide valve in said receptacle, a fuel feeder mounted for oscillation in" said hopper and formed with opposite notches adapted to receive and convey fuel alternately in opposite directions through the opening in said door, and motors mounted on said furnace door and cow nected to said fuel feeder.

7, In a mechanical stokcr, a fuel feeder formed with diametrically opposite notches, means for oscillating said fuel feeder and means for supplying fuel alternately lo the notches of the feeder, said notches being so consiruciiwl that in the movements of the feeder the fuel will be fed to different parts of the fire box.

8. In a mechanical stoker, the combination of a furnace. a door hinged thereto and formed with an opening coinmunicating with the furnace, a hopper mounted on said door and surrounding said opening, a fuel feeder mounted pivotally in said hopper, said fuel feeder formed with diametrically opposite notches adapted to communicate alter nately with the hopper and with the furnace through the opening in the door, and means for oscillating said fuel feeder.

5). In a mechanical Stoker, the combination of a furnace, a door hinged thereto and formed with an opening conimunicating with the furnace, a hopper on said door and surrounding the opening therein, a fuel feeder pivotally mounted in said hopper and formed with diametrically opposite fuel-receiving notches adapted to connnunicaie with the hopper and furnace alternately and successively. and means for oscillating said fuel feeder.

Signed by me at Des Moincs, Iowa, this first day of March, 1906.

MARTIN SW'IN'IE K.

Witnesses S, C. Swnnr, L. L. Lmnnocn'. 

